The gross domestic product (GDP) of the United Kingdom has contracted for six consecutive quarters. It was reported that according to official records that between July and September, the United Kingdom economy declined by 0.4 percent which indicates that the UK is still in recession. [bbc.co.uk]
Read the full story, UK economy is still in recession, at the BBC site.
Four years ago, United States denied China’s bid for Unocal on national security grounds. Four years later, the state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) is reportedly in negotiation to purchase leases by the Norwegian StatoilHydro in U.S. waters in the Gulf of Mexico. China has a growing demand for oil but its local supply is stagnant, so China is looking for sources abroad especially in U.S. waters. Gulf of Mexico is the source of about a quarter of U.S. crude oil production. [latimes.com]
Read the full story, China’s push for oil in Gulf of Mexico puts U.S. in awkward spot, at the Los Angeles Times site.
The Fernald Preserve in Ohio, United States has flowers and birds but also has tons of radioactive waste. Fernald was one of the many facilities that once supplied the nuclear arsenal of the United States. The plant was shut down in 1989 but the place remains contaminated. Fernald is part of the toxic legacy of the Cold War. [latimes.com]
Read the full story, Toxic legacy of the Cold War, at the Los Angeles Times site.
It was reported that according to the Electoral Complaints Commission, the current President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai did not gain enough votes for an outright win in the August 20 presidential election. He needed at least 50 percent votes to avoid a runoff with his closest rival former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah. If a runoff is necessary, the Afghan election officials have tentatively set November 1 as the date for a runoff. [cnn.com and bbc.co.uk]
Read the full story, Karzai ‘facing runoff for Afghan presidency,’ NGO says, at the CNN site.
Read the full story with video, Karzai ‘stripped of outright win’, at the BBC site.
US Bank Goldman Sachs announced on Thursday that it profited $3.19bn for the period July to September 2009, almost quadrupled its profits compared to the period July to September 2008. Goldman Sachs also set aside $5.35bn to cover pay and bonuses for the quarter.
In a report by ITN on July 2009 Goldman Sachs also made huge profit for the second quarter. It was mentioned in this report that Goldman Sachs accepted £6.1 billion of taxpayer bail-out cash and benefited from a host of other US government programmes. [cnn.com, bbc.co.uk and washingtonpost.com]
Watch the video, Goldman Sachs gives bonuses, at the CNN site.
Read the full story, Goldman Sachs: Your tax dollars, their big bonuses, at the CNNMoney site.
Read the full story, US banks’ profits beat forecasts, at the BBC site.
Read the full story, Bailed-Out Banks Raking In Big Profits, at the Washington Post site.
In Finland, a broadband Internet access is a legal right. Finland has become the first country in the world to declare it a legal right. About 95 percent of the population in Finland have some sort of Internet access.
It was also declared that Internet access is a human right in France but now Finland steps further by legally mandating speed to have a fast Internet access. [cnn.com]
Read the full story, Fast Internet access becomes a legal right in Finland, at the CNN site.
The Irish Band Boyzone Singer Stephen Gately died of natural causes at the age of 33. It was reported that he suffered a pulmonary oedema, an accumulation of fluid on the lungs. Earlier, there was a speculation of foul play but police said that there were no signs of suspicious circumstances. Stephen Gately died on Saturday, October 10, 2009 while on holiday in Majorca, Spain. The judge has already authorized Gately’s family and Andrew Cowles, his civil partner, to bring his body back home to Ireland. [bbc.co.uk and independent.ie]
Read the full story, Gately ‘died of natural causes’, at the BBC site.
Read the full story, His body was discovered by partner Andy, insist family, at the Irish Independent site.
Read the full story with video, Boyzone star Stephen Gately dies, at the BBC site.
Many areas in North Luzon has been cut off due to floods and landslides. Planes and helicopters are being used to transport food and relief materials to bring to these areas. Typhoon Pepeng Tropical Storm Parma happened to be stronger than Typhoon Ondoy Tropical Storm Ketsana which both hit the Philippines. Typhoon Pepeng Tropical Storm Parma devastated Philippines on October 3, 2009 and stayed in North Luzon longer than forecasted. [inquirer.net]
Read the full story, Many areas cut off by floods, landslides, at the Inquirer site.
Read the full story, Struggle to reach isolated north Luzon areas, at the Inquirer site.
Typhoon Pepeng Tropical Storm Parma which was stronger than Typhoon Ondoy Tropical Storm Ketsana heavily hit Northern Luzon in the Philippines. As the typhoon hit the provinces, not a lot of pictures and videos were taken compared to when Tropical Storm Ketsana devastated Manila and Metro Manila. With Typhoon Parma, muds, floods, and landslides killed hundreds of people, displaced thousands of residents, damaged a lot of crops, and damaged a lot of places in Northern Luzon. [mb.com.ph and inquirer.net]
Read the full story, ‘Pepeng’ pummels North, at the Manila Bulletin site.
Read the full story, Landslide deaths lift RP storm toll past 450, at the Manila Bulletin site.
Read the full story, 150 die in Benguet slide, at the Inquirer site.
The French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand admitted that he paid for sex (sexual tourism) in Thailand which he mentioned in his book. The book “The Bad Life” was published in 2005 where Minister Mitterrand was not a government minister then but a television personality. [cnn.com]
Read the full story, French minister says he won’t resign over sex with ‘boys’, at the CNN site.
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